SOAP Ezra 3: Joy & Sorrow

Joy & Sorrow  

Ezra 3 

With praise and thanksgiving, they sang to the Lord: “He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever.” And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.

Ezra 3:11-13 NIV

When I read this chapter, I couldn’t help but imagine what the last few lines of scripture wound sound like.  The mix of joy & sorrow at the same time.  Some people shouted with joy while others wept- crying tears of sorrow. Personally, I know what it feels like, but can you imagine the sound of this coming from a large group of people? It is so striking to me. 

To give some background to the chapter, the Israelites had been exiled from Israel for seventy years. They were finally allowed to return to their Promised Land and began to rebuild their temple. Previously, Solomon’s temple was completely destroyed.  They took time to plan for months and spent time gathering materials. It was a huge accomplishment when construction began, and the foundation was laid! They gathered, celebrated, and praised Jesus for this amazing progress. 

However, verses 11-13 point out that there were mixed emotions among the people.  The older generation wept. They wept because they had seen the old temple and knew what they had lost. They were experiencing grief.  It’s okay to mourn what used to be. In fact, we cannot truly move forward until we grieve losses. The important part is to not get stuck. We have to continue moving forward and have faith the God has a plan.  I think it’s important to remember that joy & sorrow can coexist together.

If the people in this chapter had allowed their previous experience to dictate and rule their hearts – what could have happened? If they remained stuck in the past and didn’t have faith in God’s plan they could have prevented forward growth.  If they got stuck in the grief of losing their old temple and didn’t move forward in faith this would have caused a ripple effect for generations to come. Their resistance to change and clinging to the past could have prevented a huge blessing from coming to fruition.

I have shared this before but this year I am on a mission to work on forgiveness. Not for the offenders but for myself.  To be free of the strongholds in my life that are related to past hurts and trauma.  I have not been stuck in my pain to the point that I am not moving forward, but I can definitely see how it affects my life and holds me back from the full potential God wants and has for me. I don’t want to be the thing standing in the way of the blessings God has in store for me.  This work is HARD. 

For many years I never invited God into it.  It can feel so overwhelming, right?  Repeating what I said above- it’s important to remember that joy & sorrow can coexist together.  For me that means working through and praying on the things I am grieving from my past so that they do not cause me to get in the way of future blessings.  For example, my daughters have an amazing father/stepfather in my husband.  My father was not an amazing father and much of my inner struggle stems from my poor relationship with him. I feel sorrow when I think about my relationship with him. In the moments I see my daughters being loved on, cherished, and valued by my husband I feel SO MUCH JOY! But the little girl in me also feels sad for the father I wished I had.

Pray with me: Lord, sometimes I just don’t even know where to start.  I need your help. You know all the struggles in my life.  You know the sorrow in my heart. You know the joys of my heart.  I am stubborn sometimes and cannot seem to let the pain of the past go.  You can take my pain and transform it into something beautiful.  Thank You for Your plan and Your way.  I don’t want to be stuck in my past and in my pain. Hands open and palms up, today I am laying it at y-Your feet, Lord. You are the miraculous healer! You turned water into wine! You are so so so good!  Thank You for getting me through the hardest times in my life. I will continue to bring my sorrow to You and look for the joy in my life.  In Your precious name, Amen.